DuPont/Woodley Recs

[TrishCT]

Hi all,

My family is visiting D.C. over Columbus Day weekend. We're staying at the Omni Shoreham in the Woodley area. This is going to be a casual trip for us, no dressing up, no 4* dining. Are there restaurants in our area that you can recommend for dinner? For lunches we would like to pack sandwiches and eat al fresco like at the zoo or Smithsonian or at the monuments.... Keeping things really simple. Any recs where we might shop for good deli/rolls/baked goods for our picnic lunches? We may spend a long day at the Smithsonian... Any recs for a restaurant in that area for dinner or are we better off heading back to our hotel area?

Not familiar with D.C, its been years since I've been. Sights that sound interesting to us so far include Julia's Kitchen and Art Galleries at the Smithsonian, Pandas at the Zoo, the Library of Congress, The Washington Monument, Lincoln/Jefferson/Viet Nam Memorials, and The Holocaust Museum. Your feedback and food/sight suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Trish

Edited September 6, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[DonRocks]

Here's a sample three-day weekend at the Omni Shoreham, assuming no car:

Friday night: get in late, Metro up one stop to Cleveland Park for casual sushi at Spices or hip Indian at Indique. If you're there early enough, go to Yes! Organic Market (in the same strip as Spices), or possibly Magruder's supermarket, and buy deli provisions for a Saturday picnic to stick in your backpack. Alternate Cleveland park dining options at Le Lavandou, Bardeo (moderate) or Yanyu, Ardeo (more expensive). Late-night pool (casual) at Atomic Billiards or a movie at the great traditional Uptown theater. If you're desperate not to Metro and must stay local, try Petits Plats in Woodley Park, though it would not be your best option.

Saturday day: coffee at Starbucks Woodley Park or wherever you can find it. Metro down to the mall with your backpacks full of goodies purchased the night before. Picnic at either the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden by Constitution Avenue (not the less-welcoming Hirschhorn Sculpture Garden across the mall). If you're west of that, picnic at the Enid Haupt Garden by the Smithsonian Castle. Legitimate alternate picnic option if you didn't buy groceries: Dean & DeLuca carryout for sandwiches and chips (by John Harvard's brewhouse (underrated beers, by the way); can't remember the street) - only a few short blocks back to the mall and no-fuss, no-muss. If you're desperate, you can pick up a decent espresso in the underground area between the East- and West-buildings of the National Galleries of Art.

Saturday night: Metro up to Cleveland Park by 6 PM and have dinner at the front room of Palena. Forget pretense - wear jeans if you have to and enjoy the $9 roast chicken, the hamburger, etc.. This is your one casual fine dining experience to be done at all costs, even if it means coming back early to nap and struggling to get up and go.

Sunday day: Starbucks or breakfast at the hotel (you can see I don't emphasize great coffee or breakfast in this area). Metro down to the mall and have lunch at Les Halles on 12th and Pennsylvania. Get a steak frites and a glass of vino, then fight through your inevitable post-lunch sleepiness and continue to tour. Alternate lunch options in the area: miniburgers (surprisingly good) at (the clubby) 701, Cafe Atlantico, Bistro d'Oc on 10th Street, Ten Penh if you don't mind spending more money and aren't looking like a rat, perhaps even trailblaze and let us know how the new-and-inevitably-touristy Aria is doing, though I don't think you should roll the dice on that one.

Sunday night: Metro to Dupont Circle and grab some pizza and wine at Sette Osteria on Connecticut and R Streets, preferably arriving before 7:30 PM to avoid a potential 30-minute wait. If you happen to find yourself in Dupont Circle mid-day, certainly have lunch in the upstairs room at Teaism (across the street from Sette Osteria), ordering downstairs at the counter and carrying your tray to the cramped quarters upstairs (or even taking it outside if the weather cooperates). If you happen to find yourself in Cleveland Park mid-day, get the goat-cheese focaccia at Amernick bakery, and arm yourselves with enough caramels to get you through the rest of the trip. And yes, do get up there in the mornings (after 11?) and enjoy the (sorry, Ann) doughnuts.

How's that?

Rocks.

[sara]

Great suggestions-- I'll just add one. Jaleo (7th and what is it- F?) isn't a far walk from the Mall, and I love a glass and sangria and some tapas there as a break from touring around.

And one sightseeing suggestion--IMO, the best monument in DC is the FDR. Not to be missed-- go at night, after dinner, for a stroll.

Edited September 6, 2004 by sara (log)

[hillvalley]

How old are your kids? That may change some suggestions.

Sara is right, FDR at night is amazing, as is the Lincoln. Don't bother with the Library of Congress for such a short trip. Also, Holocust should be done at the end of your day. It is an important but heavy experience.

I would skip Jaleo, walk a few extra blocks up and go to Zatinya butt he wait may be longer depending on the time of day.

Don't forget to see the tiger cubs at the Zoo! Early morning or late afternoon is best for animal viewing. Just remember you have to walk back UP the hill if you start at the top by the main entrance.

Have fun

[TrishCT]

Great suggestions on food and sites so far everyone, keep 'em coming.

My kids are 16 and 19, good travelers and open to new experiences. Their one request was to keep this trip casual. (Our last trip to NYC they had to dress nicely twice for dinner, poor babies. )

We will be driving in but plan on keeping our car parked and using the metro to get around. I have a guide book and map from about 5 years ago when my husband went to DC briefly for a business trip, today I'm going to pick up some more current stuff.

Looking forward to this trip!

[syzygy8]

Saturday day:  coffee at Starbucks Woodley Park or wherever you can find it.  Metro down to the mall with your backpacks full of goodies purchased the night before.  Picnic at either the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden by Constitution Avenue (not the less-welcoming Hirschhorn Sculpture Garden across the mall).  If you're west of that, picnic at the Enid Haupt Garden by the Smithsonian Castle.  Legitimate alternate picnic option if you didn't buy groceries:  Dean & DeLuca carryout for sandwiches and chips (by John Harvard's brewhouse (underrated beers, by the way); can't remember the street) - only a few short blocks back to the mall and no-fuss, no-muss.  If you're desperate, you can pick up a decent espresso in the underground area between the East- and West-buildings of the National Galleries of Art.

←

Another picnic option on the Mall is to grab a bench in the Butterfly Garden next to the Museum of Natural History. Walk south on the west side of 9th Street from Constitution Ave towards the Mall. Not many people, great tree cover and smells from the foliage. And if you're baseball fans, be sure to go into that museum to see the Baseball as America exhibit. Lots of stuff on tour from Cooperstown, and it's the best exhibit of its type you'll ever see outside of the Hall of Fame.

If you're here at all on a weekday another option for sandwich carryout would be Breadline. I think the Dean & Deluca carryout on E street is only open weekdays also, otherwise you'll have to do the pickup at the main store in Georgetown. Although not local, and are more in the lines of guilty pleasures, are Chipotle and Potbelly sandwiches which are near the Mall and could make an inexpensive to-go picnic.

John Harvard's brewhouse (sted Hancock) is right next to the Warner Theatre at the corner of 13th Street and E Street. The entrance is down some steps. Rocks is right about the beer.

Edited to add: Don't forget the quality gelato for dessert at either the American History, Natural History or National Gallery of Art museums.

[morela]

Also in the same strip as Spices is an authentic Italian deli called Vace (where you might get some nice italian cold cuts or cheese...or a sub, grinder or dope slice of pizza) and Firehook Bakery, where you can get the bread, cookies and a quick coffee if the line across the street at Starbucks is too long. Cashion's, not far from Omni, is another place to have a really good (but casual) meal.

Adding:

Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian opens September 21, and it's by ticket only. From those who have had a sneak peak, I've heard that it's really worth the visit.

Edited September 6, 2004 by morela (log)

[babka]

Cafe Atlantico is my favorite mall respite--morning at the national gallery, two hours for the tasting 'brunch' (late lunch) at Atlantico (casual dress that time of day, with more food than you ever wanted to see but it's a wonderful smorgasbord of talent), afternoon at American History with Julia's kitchen.

also: the Woodley Park restaurants are both numerous and numbing--walk, bus, or metro up or down connecticut avenue to either Cleveland Park (maybe a mile?) or Dupont (another mile--this one down) for food.

and hilllvalley's right--do the monuments at night. It's safe, they're beautiful, and you'll avoid all the tourists. You can park either by the FDR or the Lincoln and pack snicky-snacks for consumption beneath the cherry trees on the basin.

[eunny jang]

Excellent recommendations from people infitely more well-informed than I, but I just had to give emphasis to this statement:

the Woodley Park restaurants are both numerous and numbing--walk, bus, or metro up or down connecticut avenue to either Cleveland Park (maybe a mile?) or Dupont (another mile--this one down) for food. 

It will be tempting to run across the street and gamble on a place ("there're so many restaurants; at least one of them HAS to be okay"), but it will be money and a meal wasted when there are so many other options. It pains me to say it, since a good friend of mine owns Tono Sushi (on that strip), but none of the spots there are really any good at all.

[TrishCT]

I can't thank you all enough for your rec's!! Are there any bakeries/ice cream places we should be on the lookout for?

Also, I may have made a faux pas. Based on DonRocks' rec I made a dinner reservation on OpenTable at Palena on a Thursday night. We are looking forward to the roast chicken/burgers/desserts. From what I have read, there appears to be 2 Palenas...a cafe and main room... Do both rooms serve the same food? Is my reservation going to be too upscale for us...??

Also is there anything worthwile in Chinatown...? I ran across a review on TripAdvisor for Ching Ching Cha.... any good...?

Edited September 9, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[mdt]

I can't thank you all enough for your rec's!!  Are there any bakeries/ice cream places we should be on the lookout for?

Also, I may have made a faux pas.  Based on DonRocks' rec I made a dinner reservation on OpenTable at Palena on a Thursday night.  We are looking forward to the roast chicken/burgers/desserts.  From what I have read, there appears to be 2 Palenas...a cafe and main room...  Do both rooms serve the same food?  Is my reservation going to be too upscale for us...?? 

Also is there anything worthwile in Chinatown...?  I ran across a review on TripAdvisor for Ching Ching Cha.... any good...?

←

The cafe at Palena, where you can get the chicken, etc. does not take reservations, that is just for the normal restaurant. I have never had a problem getting a table. Anyway you can get the upscale food at the cafe if you like.

Edited September 9, 2004 by mdt (log)

[Busboy]

I can't thank you all enough for your rec's!!  Are there any bakeries/ice cream places we should be on the lookout for?

Also, I may have made a faux pas.  Based on DonRocks' rec I made a dinner reservation on OpenTable at Palena on a Thursday night.  We are looking forward to the roast chicken/burgers/desserts.  From what I have read, there appears to be 2 Palenas...a cafe and main room...  Do both rooms serve the same food?  Is my reservation going to be too upscale for us...?? 

Also is there anything worthwile in Chinatown...?  I ran across a review on TripAdvisor for Ching Ching Cha.... any good...?

←

Here's more than you need to know about Full Kee, an excellent restaurant in Chinatown. No liquor, but plenty of other options to wet your whistle in the neighborhood. [skip to page 5 to avoid the endless negotiations over dates and times and get to the pics]

Otherwise, though, Chinatown is a neighborhood increasingly like those suburbs with names like "Cherry Ridge" and "Mill House Estates": the name reflects what they tore down to house the current inhabitents. Not a bad walk from, say, the National Gallery, though, and close to the Red Line back to your hotel. In Dupont, Mei Wah at M and Connecticut is considered the go-to joint.

Edited September 9, 2004 by Busboy (log)

[Roger Troutman]

The pizza from Vace is incredible.

This is what I look like, when I first open the box containing the fresh, steaming hot pie:

[oliveDC]

I'll chip in my two cents even though you could eat like royalty with all the suggestions already offered:

Two Amy's off Wisconsin would be a well worth it and very short cab ride for dinner from the Omni. Very casual and excellent pizza.

For a mall sightseeing alternative: In Chinatown (and surrounding blocks), the teens would probably like the Int'l Spy Museum and lunch at Matchbox for tasty mini-burgers and more pizza.

For a deli option, So's Your Mom on Columbia Road (near the 18th St intersection) makes great sandwiches to go.

Hope you have a great time!

[hillvalley]

Matchbox is good but if you go during busy hours it can be a nightmare of a wait. Keep in mind that unlike most museums in DC you have to pay for the Spy Museum. For us natives that is practically blasphemy in this town

Whatever you do, DO NOT go to the food fest downtown that is held that weekend. I can't remember what it is called but it is not worth your time or money. They may have bands that interest your kids but the food is horrible.

[morela]

And one other place that is worth your time is Pesce on P Street. Your kids and your wallet will be okay with this place...

It's small and personable and you'll find something tasty for eveyone. By Columbus Day weekend there will probably some yummy soup and, yeah, the fish is good too.

Edited September 18, 2004 by morela (log)

[frogprince]

And one other place that is worth your time is Pesce on P Street.  Your kids and your wallet will be okay with this place...

It's small and personable and you'll find something tasty for eveyone.  By Columbus Day weekend there will probably some yummy soup and, yeah, the fish is good too.

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arfarf!!! i'm playing fetch to the best seafood-centric restaurant in dc. absolutely phenonmenal, despite jean-louis palladin's passing into the great kitchen in the sky and roberton donna's apparent disinterest/washing of the hands of this particular (previously) "superchef" venture.

plus: its EASY (in the fine dining context) on the wallet!!!

[TrishCT]

We just returned from our trip to D.C and I wanted to write a brief postscript because your recommendations helped make this a WONDERFUL experience.

We ate very few meals out because we wanted to spend as much time as possible seeing the sites. The night before our trip we made the decision to bring a cooler filled with sodas, water, fruit and milk. For breakfast, our hotel (the Omni Shoreham) provided us with juice, coffee and tea and we had cereal and croissants which we brought with us so we could get a fast jump in the morning. For lunch we made sandwiches and brought them with us in a backpack along with drinks and snacks.

Our first evening, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Ray's The Steaks. It is everything you all said it was...and more. We enjoyed the seemingly simple, yet somehow extraordinary, seared scallop appetizer, it was definitely more than the sum of its parts. My daughter likes well-done meat so she had the entrecote which she happily dipped in bleu cheese sauce. My husband enjoyed the special, cowboy rib steak--deboned. I had the hangar, a wonderfully flavorful and tender cut of meat. The steaks were cooked perfectly with lots of char and sizzle. My husband swooned with each forkful of mashed red potatoes, and we all enjoyed the key lime pie and chocolate mousse. A class chef and a class act all the way. D.C. you have something very special here.

On our second evening we dined at Palena. We were given a round banquette in the front room, which was fun. I ordered a madras, and noticed it was made with fresh squeezed oj, very nice. Two of us ordered the roast chicken, and because it takes 45 minutes we ordered the Palena fries sampler, a kind of whimsical fritto misto platter of fries and onion rings. I especially enjoyed the fried lemon slices. The roast chicken was just as you all said it would be...excellent! Simply prepared, nicely seasoned, served fresh and piping hot....it makes you wonder why no one else serves a roast chicken this way. Two days and two great dinners...We were loving our trip!!!

Day three after lunch, we were in the National Art Gallery and I remembered that you all had recommended the gelato. So for a snack we shared a couple cups (forest berry and one which name I can't remember--vanilla with shards of chocolate...begins with S ends in A). The forest berry had very nice mixed berry flavor and was refreshing. Dinner needed to be fast because we had to catch a bus for an evening tour of the monuments/memorials, so we decided to have pizza at Sette Osteria. I had the Regina--sauce, buffalo mozz and basil. My daughter had a margherita with ricotta and sausage and husband had one with prosciutto and mushrooms. All were good, and we got to our bus on time! It was a nice closing dinner.

Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas with us. This is what we saw in 3 days---Tour of Library of Congress, Senatorial tour of the Capitol (saw Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor...not ON the floor...in the Senate room--he was ON his feet...), The National Book Festival, Archives, National Art Galleries-East & West, Museum of Air & Space, Museum of American History (Julia Child's kitchen made me misty-eyed), Lincoln, Jefferson, WWII, Viet Nam, Korea, Nurses, FDR, Iwo Jima memorials (at night they were all beautiful, Iwo Jima just stopped me cold--I was in awe), a real bald eagle (in Senator Lieberman's office), and the Zoo (pandas and tiger cubs and orangutans, oh my!).

With that schedule, the time we saved eating on the go, really helped. Oh yes, thanks for that rec. about the Butterfly Garden!!!! We had a picnic lunch there, and I found out that squirrels like goldfish crackers but do not like potato chips. (My husband said that's because they don't eat veggies.)

Thank you all again!!!

Trish